Embassy Press Release

Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Constanta
July 2, 2008

- As prepared for delivery -

I am proud to stand here with you, honored visitors, at these facilities that underscore our commitment to strengthen our ability to plan, think, and operate together in promotion of our shared values, interests, and efforts.

Since December 2005, when Romania and the United States signed the Base Access and Use Agreement, we have traveled far together.

It is hard to believe that it was only one year ago, when we held the Proof of Principle Exercise for Joint Task Force East.

I was truly impressed then, but I am much more impressed now when I consider how far Romania and the U.S. have come in just one year.

Since we have embarked to build upon our strategic partnership that was launched in 1997, we have witnessed the transformation of the U.S. and Romanian relationship from simple friendship to fraternity.

Today we see the shape of that special fraternity, one that is shared among warriors who stand together in battle, in defense of principles that are greater than themselves, in the interests of the nation, to protect their children’s future, and provide for the common good.

Their fraternal bonds reflect a common fate; we started down this path together when it was clear that our security and future were intertwined, not only in our joint endeavors at this facility, but also abroad in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Western Balkans and at the table of the North Atlantic Council.

We can take comfort in the fact that we are bound by our Article V commitment that says those who would spill your blood, spill mine. We honor our fallen soldiers and together we stand to make their sacrifice meaningful.

This commitment binds us beyond the political tempests of the day, beyond the compulsion of the hour, and beyond the next election because we who are here today are only the current guardians of something larger than ourselves.

In the last 12 months, Romania has conducted itself above and beyond the call of duty on the battlefields. President Bush paid tribute to that professional conduct when he was here for the NATO Summit in Bucharest.

As President Bush said:

“Romanian soldiers have brought courage to NATO's missions. Romanian leaders have brought moral clarity to NATO's deliberations. And the American people are honored to call Romania a friend, an ally, and a partner in the cause of peace.”

When President Bush recognized the sacrifice of Second Lieutenant Aurel Marcu of Romania's 33rd Mountain Battalion, he also paid tribute to the heroism of all of Romania’s soldiers, past and present.

My country recognizes and appreciates fully the sacrifices Romanian servicemen and their families have made to bring peace, security and stability to the troubled areas of the world in the hope for a better future for all of our children; we are committed to you for the good times and the bad times.

Our Office of Defense Cooperation is vital to improving our interoperability and survivability of Romanian soldiers.

Our assistance program helps Romania to continue to transform its military and develop expeditionary and special niche capabilities critical for confronting the asymmetrical threats of global terrorism networks, and rogue state and non-state actors.

This year, we have trained jointly over 2300 soldiers and other professionals, including 350 sent to the George C. Marshall Center.

Our Seabees – the members of the US Naval Construction Force -- have provided over 1800 man days of engineering and construction support for exercise related construction and humanitarian civic funded projects in and around the areas of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, providing labor cost savings equal to $97,000 over a five month period for both the U.S. Government and Romanian Host Nationals.

In their spare time, the Seabees this year have helped renovate a dermatology clinic and two kindergartens in Constanta, and plan to renovate medical clinics in Ceamurlia de Jos and in Sinoe.

Our joint endeavors help allies and partners to provide for the common security throughout South East Europe and the Black Sea.

Our efforts also extend into the evolution of command and control, defining the battle space and the development of doctrine and policy.

We want extend the benefits of our joint operational capabilities and interoperability so that Romania and US Air Forces and Navies can succeed with the same level of professionalism and dedication that we have seen here today among our Land Forces.

Our allegiance to each other goes beyond what our two armies are doing now and will do in the future. We must broaden and deepen our commitment and investment across the full range of our strategic partnership so that the political and economic structures support what our militaries do operationally.

The path of freedom you have chosen is not easy, but it's the only path worth taking. And since you can never go wrong quoting the Commander-in-Chief, I would like to close with a quote from President Bush to the people of Romania when he was here for the historical NATO Summit in Bucharest:

“Our troops are proud to fight alongside allies like this. We appreciate courage. We appreciate people who love freedom. We appreciate people who understand freedom will yield the peace that we all want. We value our friendship with Romania -- and we value the Atlantic Alliance that we share. America is united with our European allies by ties of blood that our soldiers have shed together. We're united by ties of conviction -- a shared belief that every human life is precious and endowed by our Creator with dignity and worth. We're united by ties of liberty, and by an abiding faith in the power of freedom to change the course of history.”

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